MLB punishes Houston Astros

The reigning American League champions fired general manager Jeff Luhnow and manager A.J. Hinch after Major League Baseball on Monday suspended the two for one year for their role in a cheating scheme. An MLB investigation found that the Astros electronically stole the pitch signs of opposing teams during its 2017 World Series championship run and again in 2018.

How did they do it? The Astros used a video feed from a center-field camera to see and decode the opposing catcher’s hand signs to the pitcher. Players banged on a trash can to signal to batters what was coming, believing it would improve the batter’s odds of getting a hit. In addition to suspending Luhnow and Hinch, the league fined the team $5 million and took away its next two first- and second-round draft picks.

Dig deeper: Cheating scandals are nothing new in baseball. From the archives, read J.C. Derrick’s column about steroid use in baseball in the 1990s.